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Reel Around the Fountain by Roy Edward Jackson: A Queer Coming-of-Age Novel From Lethe Press
Roy Edward Jackson's Reel Around the Fountain, published by Lethe Press in June 2026, follows a thirteen-year-old in working-class Michigan as he digs into the family stories about his birth.
What is Reel Around the Fountain?
Roy Edward Jackson's Reel Around the Fountain is a queer coming-of-age novel set in a working-class Michigan town. The book was published June 5, 2026 by Lethe Press, a small press known for LGBTQ+ fiction and speculative work.
The story
The narrator is JP, a thirteen-year-old growing up inside a large, loud family whose members all tell different versions of how he came to be born. As he pokes at those stories, the novel turns into an investigation of family myth: who is protecting whom, what got left out, and what JP's own emerging sense of himself means in a place that does not always make room for it.
How it is told
The novel's most distinctive feature is its use of second-person narration, placing the reader in JP's perspective. Sustaining this approach over a full novel is rare, and reviewers took note. Literary Titan and Independent Book Review both highlighted the earthy humor and vivid depiction of a working-class family. Criticisms focused on occasional over-explanation and recurring themes.
The title
Readers who know the Smiths will recognize the title, which is also the name of a 1984 song by the band. Music-title novels are a long tradition in queer fiction, where a song can stand in for feelings that a character cannot yet say out loud. Whether or not the novel draws directly on the song, the borrowed title signals the mood and era the book is reaching for.
The press
Lethe Press, founded in 2001, has built its list around queer literature, including fiction, poetry and anthologies, and has published a number of Lambda Literary Award finalists over the years. For a debut or early-career author writing about queer adolescence in a working-class setting, it is a natural home.
Who it suits
The novel will appeal to readers of funny, sad family stories told by young narrators, fans of LGBTQ+ coming-of-age fiction, and those interested in extended second-person narration. The Goodreads page features early reader responses.
Book details
- Title: Reel Around the Fountain
- Author: Roy Edward Jackson
- Publisher: Lethe Press
- Published: June 5, 2026
- Length: 324 pages, paperback
- ISBN: 9781590218013